29th October 2024
Halloween Open Day at Roe Valley Arts Centre – What a Scream!
On Monday 28th October, we transformed Roe Valley Arts Centre into a cauldron of creativity, community, and good old-fashioned Halloween magic. Welcoming over 500 visitors (plus a few spooktacular creatures), the centre was abuzz with families and friends diving into festive fun, supporting a great cause, and conjuring up some serious Halloween spirit.
Our team, dressed to impress in their best costumes—from eerie clowns to the ever-popular Addams family—made sure to keep the atmosphere both spooky and welcoming.
In partnership with Cinemagic Young Audiences, we hosted a special screening of Wolfwalkers, a stunning tale of friendship, bravery, and mystery that had families captivated. This event also served as a heartfelt opportunity to support our local foodbank, as attendees brought donations to help those in need.
Kids and adults alike explored hands-on Samhain and Diwali crafts, creating creepy trick-or-treat bags and glittering Diwali lanterns with our fantastic facilitators, Linda and Christina, who kept the smiles going all day long.
The Harry Potter-themed potions workshop was an instant hit! Chris from Eurekaseekers led the little witches and wizards through potions that bubbled, fizzed, and popped, making everyone feel like true Hogwarts alums. And while things brewed and boiled, storyteller Karen Edwards whisked kids away with local myths and legends that had them spellbound—a perfect fit for our Halloween open day.
A special shoutout to Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company, who led children in learning some “boo-tiful” spooky moves to ghostly tunes. Seeing all the little dancers with big grins was a joy, and the energy was infectious!
Our Design-a-Monster Competition is still open until Friday, so if you missed the chance, stop by and pick up a sheet from reception. One lucky winner will receive a fantastic art kit—who knows what monstrous masterpieces might win!
And what’s Halloween without a few creepy characters? Thanks to Play Make Believe, little ones got a thrill as a banshee lurked around (very interested in everyone’s hair, no less!) and the mysterious Dr. Acula tried to dodge the sunlight. These performers added to the enchanting atmosphere and kept everyone entertained.
We’re thrilled to have shared this amazing day with so many of you, including visitors from Bendbradagh Day Centre, whose Halloween spirit shone through in costumes from Wednesday Addams, complete with Thing, to spooky ghosts and scary bears.
With so many warm smiles and wonderful feedback, we’re already counting down to next year’s Halloween Open Day.
The activities that are part of our Halloween Haunted House Open Days at both centres are made possible with financial support from The Executive Office through Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s Good Relations Programme.
